She’s About To Become One Of The Newest Female Astronauts
A statistic that will always astound me and other space enthusiasts is that NASA has had around 360 astronaut candidates, and to this day, less than 100 of them are women.
Thankfully, some good news in the space community involves one more woman being added to the roster of American women astronauts, and she’s not your average space enthusiast.
That woman is Emily Calandrelli, who is also known as ‘The Space Gal’ online. Emily is an MIT-Engineer, Emmy-nominated science TV host, author, and the executive producer and star of her kid’s educational series, “Emily’s Wonder Lab.” You may also recognize Emily from the piece we published on her last year!
For years, Emily has been working hard not only as an educator who encourages young children, specifically young women, to pursue careers in STEM but also as a working engineer and aspiring astronaut.
Many of Emily’s loyal social media followers on platforms like TikTok have known that her childhood dream was to go to space for years, and now, that childhood dream is coming true.
In an exciting and highly anticipated announcement, Emily revealed that she was officially becoming an astronaut and would be going to space with Blue Origin, the American aerospace manufacturer founded by Jeff Bezos.
“I’m trading in my ‘Emily’s Wonder Lab’ overalls for a flight suit,” wrote Emily in an emotional TikTok announcement.
“This is my dream.”
In her viral announcement video, Emily explains that all her hard work studying aerospace engineering, becoming a successful female science television host, teaching kids around the nation, and publishing nine educational books paid off, and she’ll be living her dream soon.
Sergey Nivens – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“Now, I’ll become one of the first less than 100 women in space, showing girls everywhere that they, too, can reach for the stars,” continued Emily.
Emily, a West Virginia native, will be traveling to space alongside several fellow West Virginians, proudly representing her home state. While the launch date for Emily’s exciting trip to space has yet to be announced, it is known that the launch will take place out of West Texas.
The spaceship Emily will ride in is named the New Shepherd, which flies six people at a time, and the mission is in partnership with Alys and Brad D. Smith’s Wing 2 Wing Foundation, which works to promote accessible education.
According to interviews, Emily plans to travel around the country to talk about her experiences in space when she returns home and reunites with her family after spending time in the stars.
“You are so inspiring,” commented one of Emily’s TikTok followers on her announcement video.
“I can’t wait to cheer you into space!”
We are so excited for Emily and cannot wait to learn more about her upcoming, once-in-a-lifetime journey. Congratulations to her and her family!
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:Chicks We Love